Dozens of sport utility vehicles were set on fire in early-morning raids in suburban Los Angeles, according to press reports.

About 20 vehicles, mostly , were torched at a Chevrolet dealership in West Covina and other vehicles were badly damaged. SUVs at a Mercedes-Benz dealership in Arcadia and Ford and Mitsubishi dealerships in Duarte also were vandalized. And several SUVs parked on residential streets, including one in Monrovia, where set ablaze in front of a private home. Other SUVs were sprayed with graffiti.

Authorities are seeking suspects recorded by a surveillance videotape, which showed two white men, possibly in their late teens, spray-painting graffiti on vehicles at a car dealership.

Blackout Sends New Cars to Junkyard

Automakers were forced to scrap more than a thousand new vehicles and components which were moving down production lines when the power went out last week at more than 50 auto plants, the Associated Press reported.

Quality concerns caused the move, the story said. The shutoff of power caused cars and trucks to be left half-painted and immobilized assembly machines and robots, leaving bolts partially tightened and parts on the floor.

The biggest losses were in paint shops, automakers told the AP, because critical painting and drying processes were halted.

"If you're in doubt, throw it away," said Frank Ewasyshyn, senior vice president of advanced manufacturing at Chrysler.

DaimlerChrysler Settles Investor Lawsuit

DaimlerChrysler says it will pay $300 million to settle a class action lawsuit relating to the 1998 merger of Daimler-Benz and Chrysler, Reuters reported.

Executives from both companies said the deal was a merger of equals instead of a takeover, which, the plaintiffs argued, deprived them of possible stockholder benefits.

DaimlerChrysler said in a statement that the plaintiffs had been seeking damages of $22 billion. The settlement was subject to a definitive agreement and to court approval, the company said, adding that it would seek $220 million from its insurers.

The settlement did not affect a separate case filed by Tracinda, the investment company of billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian, which said in a statement, "DaimlerChrysler's agreement to pay $300 million is one of the largest settlements ever paid in a shareholder class action... Tracinda intends to vigorously press ahead and looks forward to a full trial in December."